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4/10/10

Ranking the Georgia 9th District Candidates on Job Knowledge and Constitutionality

Jones is no longer running.

The field of GOP candidates for the 9th Congressional District is strong and vibrant this year. Still there are differences between their positions if you look at it closely. The above chart is an objective scoring analysis to achieve a ranking on the Constitutionality of the Candidates positions and their overall understanding of their job description as a member of Congress. Once again I only rated the candidates I.A.W. their perceived understanding of the job of Congressman from the 9th District. The higher the score the better; a perfect score is 15. Use this as tool to form your opinion and I'll be updating this as May 11th approaches. Obviously there may be additional perceived values you have of each candidate or dislikes about another. Below is a breakdown of each category.

Health care: The correct answer in this category is; “I will be one vote in Congress to repeal Obamacare.” Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution does not empower the Federal government to interfere in a citizens health care decisions. If Obamacare is unconstitutional then what makes Cates, Graves, Hawkins, and Stephens health care reform proposals constitutional? Nothing. Reese is less specific, but Loftman, Jones, and Tarvin either address health care constitutionally or not at all. If a candidate demonstrated a constitutional understanding of health care they received the highest score; no mention slightly lower. All unconstitutional understanding of health care received a negative score in Constitution line item. Again the best answer for health care is; “I will be one vote in Congress to repeal Obamacare”.

Economy: The correct answer in this category is; “Lower Taxes, Fair Tax, Less Regulation.” All the candidates were particularly strong in this category reflecting an understanding of the Austrian School of Economics, which is basic Conservatism. The only reason Jones is slightly lower, because he does not specifically and categorically state Lower Taxes and Less Regulation. Again the correct answer is; “Lower Taxes, Fair Tax, Less Regulation.”

Taxes: (See Economy above.)

Conservative Values (Abortion, Traditional Marriage, 2nd Amendment): The correct answer is; “Pro Life, Traditional Marriage, I will not vote to repeal the 2nd Amendment.” The candidate received no score if no mention was made in this category. The 2nd Amendment category was particularly incoherent among the candidates, which tells me many don't understand the concept of the 2nd Amendment. There is no right by any individual to own a gun, the only thing the 2nd Amendment applies to is that the Federal government can't infringe on our right to bear arms. If there was no mention of the 2nd Amendment the candidate was scored highly, because the only thing a Congressman from the 9th District is to guarantee they will not vote to repeal the 2nd Amendment. Loftman's constitutionally correct explanation earned him a high score. Again the correct answer is; “Pro Life, Traditional Marriage, I will not vote to repeal the 2nd Amendment.”

Defense: The correct answer is; “It is my constitutional obligation, my job, to maintain a strong national defense in order to protect the liberties of the people.” Curiously few of the candidates actually addressed this issue when it is the fundamental responsibility in the job description of a United States Congressman from the 9th District. The correct answer is; “It is my constitutional obligation, my job, to maintain a strong national defense in order to protect the liberties of the people.”

Immigration: The correct answer is; “Immigration must conform to the will of the people and I will vote accordingly.” This is a very difficult issue and I suspect the reason only three candidates addressed the issue. The Constitution delegated the power of immigration to the states. Yet the Supreme Court in 1875 ruled that the regulation of immigration was a power of the Federal government, which created all the problems we have to date. The Federal Government has tried quota systems, skill based immigration, preferred ethnicities, race and gender bias, and preferential treatments. What a mess. In the end, it is by the “Will of the People” to approve or disapprove of legislation through their 9th District Representative. Candidates that expressed a desire to protect the borders were given a high score, because that seems to be what the people actually want. The correct answer is; “Immigration must conform to the will of the people and I will vote accordingly.”

Constitution: I created this category to specifically grade candidates on their understanding and intention to follow the Constitution while serving in office. Cates, Graves, Reese, Hawkins, and Stephens were scored negatively due to their expressed intentions to interfere in the citizens health care decisions. Jones received a negative for his desire for a Federally funded Mag Lev rail from Atlanta to Chattanooga. President James Madison even vetoed a bill that included a canal system. The Constitution does not empower the Federal government to build mass transit systems. These are particularly egregious , because they espouse clear violations of the Constitution outside their authority as a US Congressman from the 9th District.

States Rights: I created this category to further explore whether the candidates understand the relationship between the State of Georgia and the Federal government. Reese and Hawkin's were downgraded because it is apparent they don't understand that every drop of water in Lake Lanier is none of the Federal governments business. It is a states rights issue and the business only of Georgia. Jones was downgraded because of the Mag Lev train issue. A double downgrade for this particularly bad stand on the issue.

CONCLUSION

The candidates will take a stand on the issues and are free to change their positions going forward. If you feel the Constitution reflects the best way forward to protect the liberties of the people in the State of Georgia to ensure a free and prosperous society then I suggest you ask the candidate to clarify their positions. This election is so critical to this nation and most importantly to our families. We only get to put one vote in Congress, let's make sure it is the right person or we have only ourselves to blame. Thank you ...

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